A COVENTRY-based social enterprise providing health and wellbeing help has been awarded £314,000 to help it deliver personalised support to people waiting for knee and hip replacements.
Hope For The Community CIC (H4C) received the funding boost from the Social Ventures competition which was run by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) as part of the Healthy Ageing Challenge.
H4C plans to use the funds to deliver personalised self-management programmes, known as HoPES (Hope and Prepare Effectively for Surgery) which help people remain socially connected, physically active and in good mental health as they wait for hip and knee replacements.
With some patients waiting over two years for surgery, the H4C funding boost can help reduce the risks of patients experiencing worsening pain, reduced mobility, increased anxiety, isolation and deteriorating health.
To deliver HoPES, H4C will work in partnership with NHS South West, Coventry University, Cardiff University, Coventry University Online, Magic Square Systems Ltd and Make An Impact CIC.
Gabriela Matouskova, CEO of H4C said: “We are thrilled this funding competition focused specifically on social enterprises and that we were successful in securing the contract for HoPES.
“It will allow us to take H4C to the next level and have an even wider impact by giving people more control to prepare and wait well.”
UKRI Healthy Ageing Challenge director, George MacGinnis, said: “H4C is offering much needed support to people who find themselves enduring long waits for hip and knee surgery.
“Their services help people prepare for their operation by remaining active and socially connected and this plays a key part in improving outcomes for the NHS.
“They are an exciting example of a social enterprise aiming to make a real difference to people’s lives.
“We are delighted to be able to support them to take their service to scale and reach many more communities across the country.”
Paul Spencer, senior programme manager for personalised care, NHS England South West said the project built on the successful partnership with H4C, providing digital, virtual and face-to-face supported self-management with positive results.
“We are excited to be involved and to support people to prepare for elective surgery in a way that works best for them.
“In the long term, this project will demonstrate that providing holistic support while waiting for surgery can make a positive difference in individual outcomes and change the way people access health and care services in their community.”
UKRI’s funding is designed to support innovative social enterprises in scaling products and services to support healthy ageing.
